drive
by faeriesdust
Summary: cause loving you, loving you is too hard [ in which anne shirley and gilbert blythe never met until they went to redmond college - and he was absolutely smitten. modern au. ]
1. RADIO LOUD

**"OH** DIANA," Anne cried. "I can't we're leaving for Redmond _tomorrow_!"

It was only a matter of 36 hours before Anne Shirley and her best friend Diana Barry left their childhood home to pursue a bachelor's degree. They tried to help each other pack for the trip, but only succeeded in distracting each other further. So, they ended up getting a bite to eat in Anne's home Green Gables instead.

"Neither can I!" Diana agreed. "It's a new adventure that we're experiencing, together."

"I don't think the world can handle us, Diana," Anne laughed. "It seemed like only yesterday when I was 11 and walking through the doors of Green Gables. I had no idea what affect it had on me! Now it seems as if I'm leaving it forever, even though it's just a semester before I can come back. Oh Di, I can't believe it! I really can't!" Her eyes broke eye contact with Diana's and her finger traced the rim of her cup of lemonade.

"It does, Anne." Diana's hand reached Anne's in comfort. "We are taking pieces of our home, with us though. Besides, Avonlea will always be in our hearts no matter what."

Anne sighed. "Avonlea opened a new door to my life and helped me become who I am. Perhaps I should view college the same way."

"Now that's the spirit!" Diana cheered. Though she was genuinely happy and excited for Anne, her expression changed to a more grave one, wiping her own and Anne's smiles off their faces.

"Diana dear, what is it?" Anne inquired.

"Please remember, when you make new friends and meet new people, you won't forget about your first best friend."

Anne gasped. "How could I forget about my first ever friend? Diana Barry, you get that notion out of your head. Besides, we're going together! How can I forget about someone whom I'm dorming with?"

The crease between Diana's eyebrows softened. "What a silly notion entered my brain! Of course I knew that would never happen, but I just wanted some reassurance."

Anne's hand reached forward to grab Diana's. "We promised each other in your garden all those years ago that we'd be bosom friends forever." Anne's eyes searched Diana's in reassurance. "I intend to keep that promise."

Diana's eyes melted as it morphed into happiness. "Oh Anne! I will always do so as well."

After they promised each other that they will, indeed, stay friends during college and even after, they decided that they really did need to get back to packing unless they wanted to have nothing on their way to Nova Scotia.

Anne headed back upstairs to her room after bidding Diana goodbye to look at the rest of her belongings and deciding which ones she could keep in Green Gables and which ones she should bring with her to Redmond.

As she opened her door, she realized there was a small creak in the door that she connects so vividly whenever Matthew would check up on her when she and Marilla got into arguments growing up. There was a hitch in her throat as memories flooded back to her.

She shook her head. She was being ridiculous! This was only college! A mere four years of her life! She'll be back in a few months; it was not as if she was moving away forever.

Instead of focusing on the minuscule details of her small room in Green Gables, she focused on the big picture that was currently cluttered by clothing thrown haphazardly around her room, trying to find the best pieces to bring to Kingsport. Shrugging, she picked up everything, folded them, and dumped them into the box she was bringing for the clothing. She'd have plenty of time when she moved into the dorm to figure out what outfits and such. Besides, if she was going to stay there for months, she'd better have as many clothes as possible.

There was a box, though, that lay hidden in her small closet that only was taken out a few times in the seven years she'd lived in Green Gables. In that box held her dearest memories and trinkets she'd kept. Some were from the days of when she was an orphan, others were dearest things she'd found strolling in the area, or just something that was given to her. Some included the ribbon Marilla had given her the day of the town picnic where she was first introduced to the town, a hat of Matthew's, and the lock of Diana's hair they'd exchanged in the janitor's closet of their elementary school.

All of those objects held a dear place in her heart, and she knew they had a place to stay in Green Gables. Plus, it's something she has to look forward to when she visits again. Maybe she could even add more to it.

Anne's attention diverted to the boxes that laid before her. Crouching to the floor, she leaned over the boxes with a marker and labelled what each box contained. A knock on the door gave Anne quite a start, causing her to write a line on the box she didn't mean.

"Come in!" she replied to the knock.

Marilla strode into the small bedroom, now being stripped of its decorations to be brought to Anne's dorm.

"I'll miss you, Anne," Marilla said. Usually she would keep whatever's in her mind to herself, but this, she decided, needed to be voiced out.

Anne closed the cap on her marker and turned to face Marilla, her face full of sympathy for her first ever mother. "Oh Marilla, don't be so sad!" she said, noticing Marilla's usually stony eyes starting to water. "You have Mrs. Lynde here as well, and don't forget Davy and Dora. They'd sure keep you company."

Marilla's head nodded, though she couldn't exactly agree. Green Gables wouldn't be the same without the chatty redheaded girl brought to her by Matthew all those years before. In the blink of an eye Marilla could be transported back to that day when Anne was brought before her eyes. At first, she was so upset that they were given a girl instead of a boy, but Anne had grown on her, and now she couldn't imagine why on earth she thought she could ever bring her back to the orphanage.

The thought caused Marilla's eyes to water even further and a stray tear streaked down her face.

Anne noticed this, of course, as it was not a common sight to see Marilla crying. She moved from the floor to the bed where Marilla was sitting and moved her arms to hug Marilla.

At this, Marilla was sure she would start bawling and break down in Anne's arms but she willed her emotions to stay stoic. She reached her hand to wipe away the few other tears that managed to escape, but returned Anne's embrace with a tight one of her own.

"I know you'll do well, Anne, don't you worry," Marilla murmured.

With Anne's constant insecurities, Marilla knew that Anne would most likely be worried about doing well in college, as it was a new situation. With Marilla's reassurance, Anne knew that it wouldn't be a problem. Not only had she gotten Marilla's confidence, but also Diana's which was enough to make her heart swell.

"Matthew would be so proud of you."

Anne's breath hitched as she thought of Matthew once again. If only he could see me now, she thought.

Both of them missed him, no doubt about it. He would be so proud about who this amazing, talkative, redheaded orphan had become. She matured so wonderfully, Marilla thought, she's really becoming a woman.

Marilla broke apart from their tight embrace, composing herself before saying, "You have a big day ahead of you, Anne. You'd better get some rest." She looked around the room. "And also clean this mess up. You wouldn't want to leave Green Gables in shambles."

Anne laughed. Of course Marilla would have to comment on her untidiness after such an intimate moment. "Sure, Marilla. I'll do that right now."

Marilla rose from the bed and gave one fleeting smile at Anne before closing the door and leaving her to get ready for Kingsport.

Oh how anxious she was! Anne couldn't wait to exploring the world, even though just moments before she'd been scared. After talking to Marilla she knew she had nothing to worry about. Yes, she'll miss Green Gables, but she's excited to experience new adventures brought by college.

\- ̗̀ ̖́-

After saying goodbye to Dora, Davy, Mrs. Lynde (not without a healthy dose of Rachel Lynde's "advice"), and Marilla, Anne hopped into Diana's car ready to leave the small town of Avonlea.

"This is so exciting!" Anne exclaimed, practically jumping out of her seat.

Diana laughed at her best friend. Just 12 hours later, Anne's anxiety of the next day dissipated and is replaced by a bumbling sensation of elatedness.

Diana had turned on the radio listening to people shaking off the haters and swinging from the lights which gave great background noise to Anne's bumbling thoughts. Happy was an understatement if one were to describe Anne's feelings at that moment. She would probably say it was such a "scrumptious and exquisite" feeling that only those who are in the moment itself would understand. She was excited to find out what college had in-store for her and Diana. Anne had found out that her friends Priscilla Grant and Stella Maynard - who she met in Queen's Academy - were also attending Redmond.

Her bubbling excitement also seemed to rub off on Diana who was drumming the steering wheel happily as she turned on her signal to turn into the highway, accelerating in speed to nearly 80 kilometers per hour.

Anne rolled down her window and stuck her head out just a little bit, basking in the summer breeze.

"Anne Shirley! Get your head back in here!" Diana laughed. "You'd think after spending 7 years with Marilla you'd finally get some common sense in your brain."

"I can't help it! This adventure of ours just seems so exciting! I can't not take an opportunity like that to express by happiness," Anne justified with a dreamy look in her eyes. "What do you think the collegiate experience would be like?"

"Prissy Andrews did say it was boring and too 'studious,'" Diana recounted. "Although, that is quite funny considering she is currently courting Mr. Phillips."

Anne's nose crinkled. "Don't remind me! That is honestly extremely ludicrous. Mr. Phillips of all people!"

Diana chuckled. "That's quite true, Anne. I suppose as an answer to your previous question, we'll just have to figure it out for yourself."

Anne sighed in contentment. She stuck her hand out of the window, feeling the wind brush against her finger tips. Her fingers lightly waved as if she was delicately touching whatever the wind was carrying to her. So she stayed, mesmerized by the scenery rolling about outside the car.

Diana switched from the radio to her phone after a while, not content with the current popular music selection. She and Anne made small talk during the 3 hours they drove, though Anne's head wasn't always in their conversations. It often wandered toward imaginations of what the people at school would be like and the exploits they would have.

At last, Anne and Diana arrived at Redmond. Anne had to pull out her phone to tell Diana where in the campus to go to arrive at their dorm.

Anne's excitement could no longer be contained as she stepped - practically jumping - out of the car.

"Oh Diana," Anne said. "It's so beautiful!"

The outside of their dorm was decorated with beautiful greenery of trees and flowers that reminded Anne of home. There was no doubt in Anne's mind that she wouldn't enjoy college right when she first stepped foot in the parking lot. Everything was so wonderful that she couldn't help herself but want to get a better look at the whole campus.

She found a tree in the middle of the courtyard outside of her dorm building - which she made mental note of when she decided she needed a place to get inspiration for writing - and started to climb.

Even from a bird's eye view, the whole school seemed even more wonderful. There were a bustling of the student body moving around everywhere, going from place to place, friend groups chattering, and couples snuggling. Anne's heart grew as she hoped one day she'd be as content as the others seemed to be.

Her eyes scanned the courtyard itself, landing on a boy with unruly curls, nuzzling himself into a book and occasionally pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose.

Anne took a deep breath, taking in the air around her with the aroma of fresh plants and trees. She was surely ready for this new adventure given to her by college.

Anne was broken out of her stupor as she heard Diana shout from her car for help in bringing in the boxes. Happily - though a bit glum that she had to leave the tree - she sauntered over to Diana and picked up a few boxes.

After checking in with the RA and checking their room number on an email sent by the college, they went up to their dorm rooms and settled in.

It did take a few trips going up and down the stairs to Diana's car, but they managed, often helping each other lift heavy boxes.

Tired from the heavy lifting, Anne received a text from Priscilla Grant asking them if they'd wanted to meet up for lunch and tour the campus. Anne and Diana obliged, telling her what dorm they were staying at and what room. Patiently they waited for Pris to pick them up, with Anne chattering happily as always, and Diana listening contently.

A knock on their dormitory door caused them to rise to their feet and welcome the visitor in.

"Priscilla!" Anne greeted with a smile. "It's so good to finally see you again!"

"Same here," Priscilla replied, leaning into Anne to give her a hug. She looked to the side of Anne's face when they broke a part to see Diana standing, albeit quite warily, near the door frame which allowed them to enter the rest of their living space. "And you must be Diana. I'm Priscilla Grant. I heard so much about you when Anne and I were still in Queen's!"

Diana blushed. "Really?" She extended her hand. "It's nice to meet you."

Pris took her hand and shook it pretty fiercely, though she was really excited to meet Anne and her friend.

"So where're we going today, Pris?" Anne questioned, shifting from foot to foot, trying to contain her excitement.

"Well I thought we can go try the cafe nearby on Main Street. I hear it's pretty popular amongst the students," Priscilla suggested.

"That's seems great," Anne agreed cheerily, "What do you think, Diana?"

"It's fine with me," Diana replied. "Let me go get my stuff and we can leave."

When Diana left, Anne and Priscilla broke into friendly conversation, catching up on what they missed.

"You know, your very lucky, Anne," Priscilla commented.

"How so?" Anne asked.

"You and Diana have the dorm that's facing the Old St. John's Graveyard!"

"How is that lucky?" Anne questioned, face contorting. "I wouldn't want to look at a graveyard!"

"It's quite beautiful actually, I'll take you and Diana to it once we leave."

Diana showed up then, and they were off.

Priscilla kept her promise and took them to see Old St. John's Graveyard. She was right, actually. The graveyard isn't actually used as a graveyard anymore, but the upkeep is superb. The trees surrounding the area was quite big and beautiful, and so were the great tombstones with the queerest sayings on them. Overall, Anne can see how it is a tourist attraction in Kingsport.

As they talked and inspected the tombstones, Diana realized they weren't alone. Instead, they were accompanied by a pretty girl with beautiful brown hair and a crooked mouth.

"Perhaps we should go talk to her," Priscilla suggested.

Anne's heart melted for the girl. She seemed so lonely and she needed a few friends to back her up. Agreeing, Anne, Pris, and Diana walked up to the girl and introduced themselves.

Instantly, her face brightened up with pure elatedness to finally talk and meet someone. "Oh I've been _dying_ to meet you all. I saw you guys earlier and you seemed so interesting I couldn't help myself but want to speak with you!"

The trio laughed at the funny girl. She was interesting and brought some "spice" into the group. "I'm Philippa Gordon, though please call me Phil."

"Alright Phil," Anne said. "We were just about to go get some lunch. Would you like to join us?"

Phil's face brightened. "I would love to!"

They exited the graveyard together, sharing different stories about how they knew each other, their hometowns, and what they're excited about.

"I didn't actually want to come to Redmond," Phil explained. "I would've rather stayed at home trying to decide who I wanted to marry, but my father thought it would've been better if I'd gone to college and get my BA."

Anne was quite shocked. She thought that most girls or women today would love to get an education, especially a higher one.

"But I weighed my outcomes," Phil continued. "It was either getting a college degree, or have to get married to either Alec or Alonzo and stay at home. Once I thought about it, I thought going here to Redmond would be a lot more logical after all."

The four of them continue on with the walk to the cafe as Phil explained more about her hometown of Bolingbroke (at which Anne commented "That's where I was born!" and Philippa replied "You _must_ come home with me and visit!") and Alec and Alonzo. They found out that Phil had trouble with being indecisive and Alec and Alonzo were the two people she believed she could only marry. The only problem was she couldn't decide _who_ to marry. "It's a constant struggle," she had said.

They finally reached main street and entered the lively cafe full of college students socializing and studying for the upcoming term.

The foursome sat at a small table after they'd ordered their drinks and small pastries at the cash register and they continued their conversations.

"What are your majors?" Diana asked in hopes to liven the conversations.

"You already know mine, but I'm an English Literature major and minoring in teaching," Anne said.

Ever since she was little Anne had always been interested in reading and writing. She loved using big words in her sentences as a child and occasionally would pop a few in day to day conversations. Overall, she was thrilled to find out that Redmond offered great English courses and she felt as if her dreams were being fulfilled.

The others nodded in agreement and acceptance of her chosen major.

"I'm a Computer Science and Mathematics major," Phil piped up. "I'm still debating whether I could be an applied mathematics major, but my parents thought computer science and mathematics was a better choice." She took a sighed and placed cradled her chin in her hands. "If you didn't notice by now I have a big problem in being very indecisive. Heck, even this morning I couldn't decide between the pink hat I'm wearing and a brown one! I wore this outfit with a brown hat and I thought it would look better with a pink hat that was quite floppy. I once I put it on, I liked the brown one, instead. The thing was, I thought it needed a little extra 'oomph' if I wore the brown one, but the pink one might have been too much. So, I ended up placing the two hats close together on my bed and jabbing one with a hat pin and it landed on the pink one!" Phil paused to look at the group whom were looking at her with quite amused eyes. "You don't think I'm crazy, do you? Oh! I hope you don't. I couldn't bare it!"

Anne impulsively reached over Phil to comfort her. "Of course we don't! You're fine just the way you are."

Phil smiled. "Thank you, Anne... Now what were we talking about?"

"Our majors!" Priscilla exclaimed. "I'm just a teaching major and minoring in women's studies. I really want to teach young children! After all, they're the building blocks of our society today. What about you Diana?"

"Oh, um, I'm undecided. I was thinking I'll figure it out soon, but I'm just taking the classes I need for credits to graduate."

The rest of the girls talked about each of their majors and what was required, but Anne's mind wandered.

Since she'd seen Priscilla, she'd matured quite a bit. Yes, they still are teenagers, and yet those few years they'd been a part, she'd become someone who's more down-to-earth versus always having her head in the clouds. She's still that dreamy person she'd met in the second year of Queen's, but she's more of a realist.

Anne reflected about herself. How much had she changed? Had she even changed at all? If she did, was it a good type of change? Or is she just in one of her childish fantasies again thinking she's some kind of mature princess but she's really just a little girl pretending to be someone she's not?

She thought of Phil. Even though they just met, Anne believed they'd become great friends. Sure, she might have a problem with being indecisive, but at least she'd have different choices that would bring multiple outcomes. Whether they'd be good or bad, Anne will never know. Phil might be a little queer, but at least she has a goal in her mind and has people along the way to keep her on the right path.

Sighing to herself, her eyes scanned the cafe and her eyes landed on a familiar curly haired boy. Her brows furrowed as she tried to figure this guy out. (Yes, it is a weird habit of hers. She often likes to make up stories of random strangers she met on the street and create a back story for them. Of course, it would be weird if she does end up meeting them in real life and mixed up her fantasies with their actual life story, but she doesn't like to think about that.) He seemed quite studious as every time she'd seen him his nose was in a book. Plus, she saw a few other girls in the cafe steal a few glances at him. He might have seen them and ignored them or was just focused on the book. Either way, she could see that he was attractive nonetheless, but she wouldn't judge who he is based off of his looks but more so his personality.

"Anne? Are you listening?" Diana questioned, waving a hand in front of Anne's face.

"Huh?" Anne said, dreamily, snapping out of her thoughts.

"We were asking you a question," Pris laughed. "We've been trying to get your attention at least 10 times."

"I think that's because she was entranced by that guy over there," Phil inquired.

The four girls looked over in the direction of the boy who was reading his book.

At this he looked up, most likely feeling the gaze of four girls upon him. His eyes bared amusement as he threw a wink mainly in Anne's direction (though Anne would beg to differ) and returned to reading.

Anne scoffed and turned her nose upward in disgust, though her flushed cheeks showed a small sign of flattering. The three other girls laughed at Anne and turned back to each other, resuming in conversation.

\- ̗̀ **AUTHOR'S NOTE** ̖́-

lmao riiippppp

i butchered this first chapter. i hope you liked the small snippets of the canon material along with the au. i didn't really know what to do for priscilla, but i hope you all don't mind haha. ( i kinda forgot what happened at queen's WHOOPS )

well, i hope you enjoyed the chaper! bye y'all.


	2. PLACE I'D RATHER BE

**"SO** WHAT was the question you were asking?" Anne inquired, folding her fingers together and resting her chin atop of them.

"We were wondering if you had any potential love interests a brewing," Phil said casually, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Not really," Anne confessed. "A few boys did ask me out throughout the years, but I turned them down. They weren't all that bright."

"That's true!" Diana piped up. "One of them was Charlie Sloane. There's this thing that runs in his family called 'Sloaneness' which caused everyone in that family to be quite arrogant and pompous. The thing about Charlie was he never gave up and would often challenge the other boys thinking he'd be great at everything, but really, he sucked."

The girls gave a good laugh at that.

"I think there's probably a 'Sloane' everywhere you go," Prissy said. "I've even had one in my old high school."

"There _must_ be some sort of secret admirer of some sorts," Phil pushed. "Life would be so dull without one."

"Well _Diana_ here has one. He goes by the name of Fr-" Anne started.

"Anne Shirley! We must not speak of it!" Diana intervened, cheeks burning. "He moved to Charlottetown anyways."

Phil's face morphed to sympathy. "That's horrible! I wouldn't know what I'd do if Alec or Alonzo left... then again, it would probably make my choice of choosing between the two of them easier..."

Anne laughed and pulled her phone out to check notifications and the time. Her eyes widened as she read the time: 10:24 PM.

"We've been here for four hours already!" Anne exclaimed.

"Really?" Pris said, astounded. "The time has really whizzed by! We'd better go back to the dorms. We have a big day tomorrow!"

The girls drank the last of their drinks and ate the last of their pastries, grabbed their belongings, and left the small crowded cafe. Soon they entered the chilly Canadian autumn air as they hugged their jackets closer to their bodies, trying to obtain a little more weight. Anne had the idea of huddling together as they were all so cold and they walked the rest of the way to the Old St. John's Graveyard together, forming kind of like a wall. At one point, they just stopped and started to do a kick line because Phil started walking quite weirdly.

Still, as Anne and Diana went back to their home for the next four years, Anne was absolutely sure that she had the best day of her life (though it is challenged by the day she went to Avonlea and met the Cuthberts). Her hair was nice today, absent of their usual frizzy mess, her skin was clear, and her mood was overall really joyous.

She practically skipped from her room to the bathroom after she grabbed her change of clothes to get ready for bed. Anne was easily prancing around the bathroom as her favorite music playlist echoed throughout the empty washroom. She didn't feel tired at all, though it was nearing midnight. She knew for sure that she would regret it in the morning, but at this point, she couldn't care less. All that she could think about was that she was having a great time and there was nothing that could change that. Her college has been quite great, so far, that she could tell.

\- ̗̀ ̖́-

Anne was right in her prediction. The moment she heard her alarm go off and unwanted light stream through her room she shouldn't have slept so late. It was quite ironic, considering she did come from a family of farmers, yet she never did get accustomed to the early time schedules.

"Aaaaanneee!" Diana called from the kitchen. "You better get up! Your classes will be starting soon!"

Anne let out a loud groan that caused Diana to howl. Anne was glad that her classes started at 9, but it was 8 and she didn't know where on campus her first class was located. Perhaps that was something she should've thought of earlier, but she was too preoccupied with new friends and the happiness of being in a new environment.

Begrudgingly, she got herself out of bed and into the bathroom, quickly brushing her teeth and washing her face and scurrying to the bedroom where she haphazardly picked out an outfit. In all honesty, she couldn't care less about her appearance as the only thing that really bothered her was her hair and it wasn't like she could do anything about it. She did try to dye her hair in middle school but it backfired miserably and ended turning her hair green until it faded a few weeks later back into its normal red shade. Anne never did try to tamper with her hair again.

She threw on a pair of jeans and an oversized sweater and went to the mirror and frantically put her hair in braids, not wanting to be late. She went to her desk and grabbed her laptop, books, and backpack and entered the kitchen where Diana was trying to figure out what they had in their pantry.

The university didn't supply anything to the students, but Anne was glad Diana brought some granola bars from her house over to the campus, though it was mainly just to appease their stomachs for the car ride. Grabbing one of the bars, Anne took her keys and left, not wanting to waste any more minutes than what is necessary before she enters the building's address into her phone to see where she needed to go. Luckily for Anne, the lecture hall was only a 15 minute walk from where she was so she wasn't going to be terribly late to her first college class.

With five minutes to spare, Anne found herself in a crowded lecture hall full of almost 200 students, but she did find a place to sit near the back. Soon, the professor walked into the room and immediately started his lecture about American literature.

As Anne combed through her bag looking for a piece of paper and a pencil, she heard shuffling from the row behind her.

"Gil!" A boy's voice that sounded familiar nearly shouted. It was completely unnecessary considering the lecture hall was silent besides the professor explaining the course syllabus and the students sifting around the papers and writing.

"Charlie!" Another voice who Anne thought belonged to Gilbert said. "I haven't seen you in forever! Why didn't you tell me you were coming to Redmond?"

"It was a kind of last minute thing," Charlie replied. "It was my mom's decision. I would've rather stayed at home and sleep all day." He erupted in rambunctious laughter that was beginning to annoy Anne. She really wanted to do well in college and how could she do that when she can't even pay attention in her first class! "She was like, 'You need to act like a grown man and get an education!' And I was like 'Mom, really?' Me? An education?" There was a pause. "I know right! I barely scrapped through high school so I was so shocked Redmond accepted me."

Anne rolled her eyes at the two boys behind her. They kept chattering incessantly and she _really_ wanted to pay attention. How can you pay attention when your attention is being diverted from what's important to some stupid guy's life story every 20 seconds!

Anne turned her head and gave the two boys a glare. One of them was Charlie Sloane, the boy from high school that tried to ask her out but ended terribly. His annoying quite high pitched voice and the fact he was showcasing his laziness should've tipped Anne in the direction that it was him, though she was too annoyed by them to notice.

The second person whose name was "Gil" just _had_ to be the boy she kept seeing around campus the other day. His unruly brown hair was even more frazzled than it was when she first saw him and his hazel eyes bore into her grey orbs.

The intensity of his stare almost broke her out of her glare which would've turned into a startled look if Charlie hadn't started talking.

"Aaaaanne Shirley! My favorite red head!" Charlie chanted, his arm swooping out and sort-of flexing in front of him. "Ya know, my offer still stands if you wanna go on that date."

Anne rolls her eyes. The nerve! "I thought I made that clear all those years ago in front of the entire girl population in Avonlea. Oh, and who would actually want to go on a date with you? After the _news_ leaked out, I don't think you've landed a date, since, let's see, 8th grade? And it was _Josie Pye_. I can't believe you stooped so low!"

Charlie's eyes narrowed. "You. Wouldn't. Dare."

Anne moved closer to the boy, her grey eyes challenging. "Yes, I would." Anne sat back into her chair and spun around to face the professor. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm actually trying to _learn_ here? We're in college for a reason, right? Oh wait, maybe that's just me."

She whipped her head back towards the PowerPoint that was currently being projected and hurriedly opened up her laptop and copied down the information. After her little "roast" of Charles Sloane, she heard some of the guys "ooh"ing and others saying "buuuurn" while the girls were snickering. She smiled to herself, quite proud of what she'd done.

After class, many of the girls who had heard Anne and Charlie's "discussion" said hi to her and complimented her on her skills. They thought it was a great act of feminism in reply to a man's need to always need a date to fire their ego. She was invited to attend their "Modern Acts of Feminism" club that met on the first Tuesday of every month. Anne considered going and bringing along Diana who Anne thought needed a little more insight on that aspect of society after being raised by a mother who thought only being a housewife was being a "proper lady." Nonetheless, the club seemed quite interesting and Anne couldn't wait to attend.

In addition to the girls, many guys came up to Anne and gave her a high five. By the time she went back to the dorm for her break she'd been called "Queen Anne" by so many people she actually felt like royalty.

Besides Charlie Sloane being in Redmond with the rest of her crew, Anne thought about what other good things can come from these four years. Oh, if only she could imagine.

\- ̗̀ ̖́-

Glad her classes were over for the day, Anne spent the rest of the afternoon beneath the elm tree in the courtyard outside of her dorm attempting to conjure up some sort of story upon which she could expand for her creative writing class.

Even though Anne's mind could travel though all different kinds of dimensions, conjure up exquisite imagery of different settings and events, and even use imaginative vocabulary that the average 18-year-old could never think of, just picking one and sticking to it is a hard challenge for her. Even so, it's hard for her to pick the perfect character about which to write in a way that allows her to especially connect with and create a bond between the reader and the plot.

Trying to think of the perfect characters, Anne slumped into the tree, blowing a breath, trying to move the small strand of red hair dangling in front of her face. Her eyes closed as she felt a shadow creep up in front of her.

Her eyes darted back opened, startled by the sudden person trying to get her attention.

"Diana!" Anne said, cheerily, once realizing it was only her best friend. "Come sit with me!"

"What're you up to?" Diana asked.

"I'm trying to write a short story for my creative writing class. It's just so _difficult_ to not have some sort of idea just ready in my head to be explored. Why is it that _nothing_ , I really mean _nothing_ , is coming to mind for me today," Anne sighed.

"I really don't know, Anne. But I know you'll think of something," Diana assured Anne. "Do you mind if I join you? I have an assigned reading to do in Psychology that I wanted to get done."

"Sure, I don't mind. You're taking psychology? I thought you hated that class in high school."

"I did, but I decided to give it another shot. Maybe it was just the teacher that made the class so terrible."

Anne nodded at her friend and returned back to the computer on her lap. The blank screen was haunting her as the cursor was blanking as if it was waiting for it to be noticed. It was more taunting her, saying, "Write! Write!"

In this sort of writing slump, Anne decided to pop in her earbuds that she kept in her bag. Whenever she couldn't think of anything to write, she would turn on her writing playlist and usually something would instantly pop into her brain. There was still some sort of blockage, but there was at least some words flowing though her brain that she could grab onto at one time or another.

Starting out her writing with short simple sentences just describing the weather of the situation, the lyrics floating through her head started taking control and she was able to make situations out of the metaphors sung. Soon enough, her fingers started flying around the keyboard and she was soon entranced by the sudden amount of words constantly flowing.

The world started to become just a blur around her as students kept passing by, people were mutely chatting to each other, and nature buzzed around her. In fact, she didn't notice a boy standing next to her or one of her earbuds falling out until he yanked one of her red braids and started murmuring "Carrots!" in her ear.

Broken out of her writing daze, Anne shot straight up and looked at the harasser in the eyes.

"How dare you!" She shouted. "How dare you!"

Frantically with the sudden amount of adrenaline, her eyes darted around to the nearest object. It landed on the tablet in his hands and she yanked it from his arms. She didn't realize that her brain had gone on auto-pilot until it had been smashed upon his head with a thwack.

With her head held high, Anne tugged a semiconcious Diana awake, grabbing her backpack and laptop and calmly walked away from the tree.

Diana, quite unaware of the whole ordeal looked around to see who the owner the hand who grabbed her was. The red mop of hair did little to clam the fluttering of her heart after being so startled. Her eyes went back towards the tree they were just sitting by to see a frazzled boy who looked like Gilbert Blythe sitting there and gaping at Anne.

"Anne Shirley! What happened?" Diana demanded, still frazzled as her friend was still dragging her.

"I will tell you later," Anne replied subbornly.

Knowing how Anne is in these types of situations, Diana knew it was best to be silent and do as much as she was told, complying with easy allowance. She didn't even bother trying to get out of Anne's tight grip and allowed her friend to drag her all the way to their dorm room.

They had gotten a few weird looks along the way but Anne couldn't be bothered by it. She was still fuming about the boy who thought that he could tease her about her hair! Of all things! He could've teased her about anything else and she would be fine, but yet, he picked her hair. The one thing she was extremely sensitive about.

Once she and Diana finally entered their dorm was when Anne finally released Diana from her tight grip.

Her reason behind acting in such a way was a given; he'd teased her! About her hair! She'd thought she had gotten her temper in check about that, though. She thought she wasn't going to be affected from the teasing about her hair anymore. Perhaps it was such an innate reaction she couldn't have helped it. After all these years of people constantly teasing her about her hair, her body, or the fact that she was in the foster system for some time, she had always needed a way to scare them off, and it was through the use of her fiery temper. Anne had built up this wall, after all, that after a certain button was pressed, the shield became stronger and the fire emerged.

"Anne," Diana said calmly, removing Anne from her reverie, "what happened out there?"

"That 'Gil-boy' called me Carrots," Anne winced. "You know what happens when they tease me over my hair! I thought I had that in check and it wasn't going to happen here but it just did! Oh Diana, what am I going to do?"

Diana sucked in a deep breath, knowing what to do after these types of situations happened many times over the years. "You'll get through it, I know you will. You've done it multiple times before." Diana paused. "A person named 'Gil' you say, is the one who teased you?"

"Yes. I know he's friends with Charlie Sloane, too. He was in my literature class this morning."

Diana gasped. So it is true! Gilbert Blythe really was in Redmond!

"Diana! What's wrong?" Anne asked, concerned about the sudden gasp Diana let out.

"You just hit _Gilbert Blythe_!"

Anne blinked. "I really don't care who he is." As if in a sudden turn of feelings, Anne shouted, "I hate him! But, how do you know him?"

"He lived in Avonlea for a while but left right before you came. His father died and he was sent to live with some distant relatives who live in Charlottetown. I haven't seen him since. Plus, I was overhearing some Redmond gossip this morning and apparently Gil is super popular and extremely sought after. I bet your name is going to be in the gossip circles tomorrow!"

Anne's head dropped in her hands. Being the person who's the subject of all the gossip _again_? "That and I did tell Charlie Sloane off today."

"Anne!" Diana exclaimed. "Why did you not tell me sooner! I would _love_ to hear that story."

Now this was actually a story of the day about which Anne was proud. Anne recounted the events of earlier that morning, kind of over exaggerating some parts as to get her point across, but soon her troubles of Gilbert Blythe melted away and was instead replaced by the wonderfulness of the feeling of superiority over males and empowering females in small, quite sublime, ways.

"Oh! I almost forgot," Anne mused, remembering something. "A few of the girls from my Lit class invited me to go to the 'Modern Acts of Feminism' club. Although I believe there could be a more metaphoric and romantic name for the club itself, I thought it would be a superb idea to go. Would you like to join me?"

Diana thought about this for a moment. "Considering my mother isn't here to witness the things I do all the time, I suppose why not."

Anne's face broke into a million-watt smile as she clapped her hands rapidly and squealed. "This is so exciting! I know you're not always one for being deeply involved in politics and such, I hope you'll actually enjoy this! Of course, I wouldn't want to hang this above your head for any reason as if to make you feel like it's compulsory to go, but I _do_ hope you'd find as much fascination with it as I do!"

Diana laughed at her friend's happy ramblings. "We shall see, I suppose. Now let's go eat. I'm starving!"

\- ̗̀ **AUTHOR'S NOTE** ̖́-

i hope you enjoyed the chapter! i don't really know how to end chapters, so i'm trying to get a feel for when's an appropriate time to end a scene. personally, i want to end more on a sort of ~cliff hanger~ eventually, but i'll keep working on it :)

i'm gaining some sort of updating schedule (hopefully) which is updating once a week on mondays. hopefully i can keep this schedule!

if you want the edited version of these chapters with sometimes added content, please check out my wattpad which is evoIutionary (the L is an I). i add gifs to the chapters and you can see my cast and playlist.

also! i had a question on ff asking why this is titled "drive" and it's because it's based off of oh wonder's song! usually, i title my stories based off of song titles, and this happens to be one of them :) bye y'all.


	3. HURRICANE

**DIANA** WAS RIGHT in the fact that Anne would definitely be a part of all the "hot gossip" of Redmond. Even as Anne went out to eat, (which probably wasn't a good idea since she was a broke college student and the only money she earned was from a newspaper internship she took the summer before) there were pointed stares in her direction and whisperings of her name linked to Gilbert Blythe's. It wasn't great to say the least. Anne kept her head up, nonetheless; it wasn't like words would stop Anne from being who she was.

Anne wasn't exactly sure what the gossip entailed, though, but she did get texts from Phil, Pris, and her other friend Stella Maynard questioning if she actually did say what she said to Charlie Sloane and if the rumors of Anne smacking a tablet atop Gilbert's head was true. She didn't confirm it, as she would rather do such a thing in person than on a phone, but she did question from where they heard that. They all said they'd just been going to classes or going out to eat where they heard Anne's name and started to listen in.

For Anne to say that people actually knowing her name wasn't thrilling would be a lie, but she wasn't sure whether it had been linked to a good thing or a bad thing. Her friends assured Anne that for the most part, people were praising her for being the girl of the 21st century or whatever, and there was the ever-present jealous person wanting to be in her position of having two boys vying for her attention (Anne scoffed at that). There were the haters, of course, that questioned what gave her the right to do such a thing, although Anne knew that she could do whatever she wanted no matter what. It is a free country after all!

Anne knew she shouldn't be bothered by gossip, especially since she'd already experienced the majority of it back in Avonlea when she first arrived. Plus, she lived with Rachel Lynde for a time and she knew exactly what kind of gossip to stay away from, and this one isn't that bad. Anyways, there are thousands of people on campus so it's not like everyone would hear about it like in high school. The only people who would really care are those who don't have any other reason to go to college besides for the parties and purposely wasting their parents' money for no other reasons besides thinking it would be fun.

Still, she and Diana were able to have a somewhat peaceful evening. Anne pointedly ignored the looks and whispers that seemed to follow her no matter what. Her main goal was to also keep Diana out of whatever drama seemed to always trail behind Anne, as she didn't want their relationship to be damaged because of some words other people have said about them. So, throughout their lunch, Anne made sure to not include Diana's name (though it would be leaked eventually) in much of their conversations and tried not to speak of extremely private information that could bite them in the butt eventually. Of course, Anne might be taking it to the extreme, but one can never be too careful around nosey teenagers that would do anything to cause trouble. Plus, Anne wouldn't want to be involved with a collegiate version of Josie Pye who would do legitimately anything to cause drama between friends and make a good story in the gossip column of their school newspaper.

Anne did hear about the popular Ruby Gillis, though. She was in Anne's American Literature course, and she was quite pretty. Ruby seemed so extremely nice that Anne couldn't even find a reason to hate her. She was one of the Redmond sweethearts, and was also another name linked with Gilbert Blythe (and in all honesty, who wasn't?).

Ruby was invited to go to Redmond on a cheerleading scholarship and she's one who is extremely peppy. She can make anyone smile without even trying. She is considered to be a bit boy-crazy, though. People on campus say that she can't keep a boy for more than a month, but all of her ex's only have words of praise. She really is an enjoyable person, and she was even nice towards Anne! For some reason, this shocked Anne, especially since she thought Ruby would've caught wind of the more pessimistic and mean gossip about her.

Anne was grateful nonetheless, and it was nice having someone to talk to in between lectures.

Anne found out that Ruby enjoyed story telling, though Ruby believed she wasn't much good at it. Anne, being the person with an adventurous spirit and imaginative mind, declared that they could create a story telling club.

"It's a wondrous idea!" Anne claimed as they packed for the end of class. "There are probably many other people who would enjoy writing stories as well. There's so many computer labs and places here in this university where we could meet! I think Professor Stacy would willingly be able to endorse us. That way we can reach a broader amount of people! Just think about it, Ruby! We can actually do this!"

Ruby gave Anne an incredulous look. "I don't know, Anne," she said cautiously. "I'm quite busy at the moment and it does seem like a lot of work to set up a club here in a college campus. I mean, you can go ahead and do it by all means and I'll be a huge supporter and I'd definitely join, but I just can't help on the founding of it. But hey! What about Gilbert Blythe? He seems like he can help you. Plus, it would be a good thing for him to put on his campaign for class president."

Anne scoffed at the idea. Gilbert Blythe! Helping her! No way! Plus, there's absolutely no possibility that she would get a guy like Gilbert Blythe to help her at a story club. If she were to stoop so low as to ask him for help, she can just do it all by herself.

Anne didn't even understand why he was taking this class in the first place. She'd heard around campus that he was studying pre-med currently, so it didn't make sense why he was in an American Literature class. It would be a question she would ask him if she wasn't so bothered by him constantly to get in a decent conversation.

And, just as if he knew exactly what they're taking about, the devil himself swoops in. "Hello ladies, how may I brighten your lovely afternoon," he says, throwing a wink in Anne's direction. She felt as if her eyes can see the back of her brain since she rolled it back so far.

"Oh, Anne was just talking about making a story telling club," Ruby said, nodding over at Anne. "Isn't that right?"

"Oh yes, but I must get going," Anne excused herself. "I'm meeting up with Phil today and I mustn't be late!"

Hurriedly, Anne practically threw all of her books, paper, pencils, and her laptop into her backpack, said a rushed goodbye to the girls and flew out of the lecture hall doors. Before Anne was able to make it out of the second set of doors to make it outside of the building, a voice called, "Anne! Wait up!"

Mentally cursing the owner of the voice, Anne didn't slow down remotely. In fact, she tried to increase her pace, enough to make it seem like she couldn't hear the person, but not enough to make her seem rude. The plan itself backfired as by the time she turned the corner as she exited the building, the person caught up to her.

"Yes, Mr. Blythe. How may I help you?" Anne inquired politely with just a little bit of spite.

"I thought I might accompany you on your walk to wherever you need to meet Phil," Gilbert replied, a hint of cockiness easing through his tone of voice.

"And which one of my actions hinted at me wanting some sort of assistance as easy as just crossing the street and walking?" Anne pressed, her annoyance showing.

"Listen Anne," he started, dropping whatever teasing he used to start off, "I'm sorry about startling you and calling you 'Carrots.' I had no idea what affect it would had on you, and I sincerely apologize. Can't we be friends?"

Anne scoffed. The nerve! "Friends? Honestly Mr. Blythe, I thought you'd be smarter than that to realize it would take more than a simple 'I'm sorry' to go so far as obtaining a friendship."

At this, Anne stormed off, crossing the street, not bothering to even check if the cross light was on. It wasn't necessarily a smart choice of hers, but she needed to leave and there were luckily no cars passing at the time.

She left Gilbert wondering where he honestly went wrong. He knew that he does have a big mouth and he had suffered severely for it as shown through his numerous accidental verbal battles he's had during the high school hockey season.

It honestly surprised him how Anne reacted. Usually, girls (and some boys, oddly) would be so flattered to even have him look in their direction. Then, here comes this girl on his first year of college that completely threw all his knowledge of the opposite gender out the window and instead left him pinning after her, begging for her forgiveness over something that usually wouldn't be such a big deal.

He ran his hand through his already messy hair, making it even worse as he wondered what Anne meant by it taking more than an "I'm sorry." What else could he possibly do?

Meanwhile, Anne was fuming by the time she met Phil in a restaurant where they had agreed to meet for lunch.

"I saw you walk over with Gilbert," Phil said as they sat down waiting for their food.

Anne's eyes rolled at the even first syllable. "Don't even get me started on that, Phil. I really don't want to talk to that bastard. How's Alec and Alonzo? Have you preferred one over the other yet?"

"Oh, Anne," Phil mused, thinking about her short comings between the two boys. "I really do try! Every time I think I like one more, I just so happen to think about the other and then I'm back to square one... Hey! Don't distract me from what we were talking about!"

Anne smiled sheepishly as she shrugged her shoulders as if to say, _Hey, I tried._

"Why did Gilbert walk with you? He seemed really sad or repentant about something."

"He tried to apologize to me," Anne confessed, "but I wouldn't have it. How could I after someone deliberately tried to flirt with me and _then_ insult me by calling me _carrots_! Of all things! And I thought my hair was more of a darker auburn versus the neon red that it was when I first moved to Avonlea and when Diana first met me. He just made me feel as if I was an insecure 11-year-old again. I hate the feeling Phil! I really do! There's some things and some people who can never be forgiven. Gilbert Blythe is one of them."

Phil gasped. "You can't say that! Diana told me that you'd forgiven your childhood bullies quite easily. What makes this one different?"

Anne pondered this for a moment. Why did she loathe Gilbert Blythe so much? She didn't even know him! "There's just this aura about him that automatically makes me feel as if I should hate him. It's hard for me to explain it, obviously, but I feel as if I can't really trust him with anything, for some reason. Usually, I'm so great with words and I can so eloquently explain my feelings and thoughts of a person but this is just so different!"

Phil nodded numbly, trying to see what she could make of this situation. "I see," she said, though she really didn't. Why couldn't Anne explain herself? And why was she so reluctant? Plus, that was an awfully long pause that she took to answer that question. Perhaps it meant something.

Anne dismissed the topic of Gilbert Blythe especially if Phil wasn't going to press any further.

She was quite surprised that Phil wasn't going to pester her more about her love life. Since the first day they met Phil was rambling on and on about romance that even Anne was starting to get annoyed. It was quite ironic since Anne has always been the one fantasizing about her dark and brooding suitor to be. Still, she was just waiting for that perfect someone who decides to come along at the right time.

"So I hear you're a blue nose...?" Phil inquired tentatively.

Luckily, Anne laughed. "Even though I may be born in Bolingbroke, it doesn't mean I am one. I like to say I'm a Islander through and through. I felt more attached to that place than I ever were in the other houses and locations I've stayed at."

"I see," Phil said again. "But Anne, you _must_ visit Bolingbroke with me when I go home. I promise you'll absolutely love it there! It's absolutely beautiful. You _must_ see it in October as the trees and leaves are changing colors. It's the most _gorgeous_ thing you'll ever see."

"Then you must see Avonlea during that time as well. It's also the most beautiful thing! It's wonderous seeing all the different colors changing. It's like a personal time table to show how much you've grown over the year and the trees are growing and changing with you! Don't you think autumn is divine?"

"That is so very true, Anne. And I must say, though, Redmond is looking exceptionally beautiful around this time. Were you able to see it before hand on the tour?"

"Unfortunately, no. I was too busy helping Marilla - that's my adopted mother, though I do think of her more of an aunt - with the farm, after... after Matthew died."

Though it's been about a year since Matthew had had a heart attack and passed quite abruptly, it was still a sore subject about which for Anne to talk. It was just that Matthew had been so dear to her heart that it was so sad seeing such a kindred spirit go. He had always been the one to have understood her the most and was able to cheer her up even when she was deep into the "depths of despair." Perhaps Matthew was still with Anne in spirit - well, at least Anne hopes so. Still, she can feel it in her soul that Matthew was still there, even though she couldn't see him. She will still strive to always make him proud, in everything that she does.

Phil sensed Anne's stuttering, yet she had a feeling that it was still an open wound, not yet fully healed. Yes, Phil still had a curiosity in her who this "Matthew" really was to Anne, though she already knew that he was her other adopted father and brother to Marilla, which was what she'd learned from talking to Diana.

So, she changed the subject once again, talking more about their classes and what they were currently binge watching on Netflix. Also, Phil told Anne about the newest Redmond gossip and what big parties were coming up.

Anne politely refused to attend any of them, claiming she had lots of homework to do and studying upon which to catch up, which wasn't a lie since college has been kicking her butt so far. Plus, she knew she was having a run for her money with Gi... he who shall not be named, in many of her classes, so she knew she really had to study if she wanted to be at the top of her classes.

Academia is something that has always been important to Anne, especially since she missed a lot of schooling as a foster child. She was always hopping from household to household, never really staying long enough to fill in a full year of school. Somehow, when she made it up when she went to Avonlea, though, which was great. Anne always studied hard and pulled through, no matter how difficult it was. Even though geometry and chemistry were her weak points, she was able to study through it, and understand it enough to pass with good marks. Even though she wasn't as well prepared or well trained as the other children, she was easily able to top all of her classes and easily make it into Redmond along with several other schools.

Anne was happy, nonetheless, at who she had become and her academic stand point. There was no way she could mess that up in college by going to measly parties that wouldn't do her much good anyways.

Soon, Anne said goodbye to Phil and walked back to her dorm. She looked around quite often, scared that a certain someone could come out and start trying to talk to her. When Anne stepped into the dorm without a single person trying to stop her, she sighed in relief.

She had quite a lot of decorating to do in her dorm still. It wasn't as _homey_ as she would've liked it to be so she quickly got to work.

She strung up her fairy lights around her bed and rummaged through the boxes to find the quilt on which both Marilla and Mrs. Lynde worked together and laid it across her bed. Anne found some of her favorite Polaroid pictures she had took back in Avonlea and found some clothespins where she strung it across the lights.

The small lilies and mayflowers she'd brought with her from back in Green Gables added a bit of color and liveliness to her otherwise stagnant room. Along with that she'd placed some of her favorite books and picture frames on the desk made her feel more at home than before. After breaking down some of the boxes she had brought, she stepped back and admired her handiwork.

This was a place in which Anne would surely be happy staying and living for a while. Plus, she had her best friend (who as currently out with some other friends) living there with her so Anne couldn't be happier.

So, she plopped down onto her bed and grabbed her laptop. She had to be taking some more notes for her "Reading of Poetry" class for her teaching minor. Anne opened up the music app she had on her computer and turned on her music and she was finally able to concentrate and start working. She felt so engrossed in the music and the literature she was reading that she barely even heard the door open and Diana stepping in, her keys being dropped on the small counter top of the small kitchenette they shared.

Anne wasn't fazed by Diana coming into the dorm, rather she was more startled by the large groan Diana let out when she walked into Anne's room and flopped herself onto the bed.

"Diana dear," Anne mused, "What's wrong?"

"Fred Wright is what's wrong!" Diana cried, flabbergasted.

"Fred Wright? What does he have to do with anything?" Anne asked.

"He's here! In Redmond!"

"Wait... how do you know?"

"I saw him with Gilb-"

"That name should never be spoken Diana! Never!"

"So like Voldemort?"

"I suppose so... is that his name now?"

"I suppose why not... I mean he is also the other 'He who shall not be named.'"

"Okay, sorry. Continue on what you were trying to say."

Diana looked at Anne quite puzzled, as if she forgot the whole reason why she came in and seemed extremely frustrated. "Oh, yes! Fred!" Diana exclaimed. "He's back, Anne. He's back!"

"I mean he just came for college... we were bound to see people we knew."

Diana rolled her eyes. "That's beside the point, Anne. Can't you see? I thought he ignored me on purpose for the last few weeks before he left for Charlottetown. In actuality, he just couldn't bring himself to tell me that he's leaving for good and we probably wouldn't be able to see each other. Oh Anne! It was so sweet when I heard it from him.

"I was walking out from the library when I saw him, Anne. I saw him with Gi- Voldemort across the street and I was for sure that it was him, yet I knew that it couldn't have been. It was his distinct redness - Oh Anne stop snickering! You know he gets flustered a lot and the sun makes him burn a little! Well, that's besides the point. His back was turned to me at the time so I hoped I could get out of their way before I was going to be noticed. But of course they were standing at the exact spot I had to pass before I could get back to the dorm! It was quite unfortunate, though. Alas! (Oh how you rubbed off on me, Anne. I would never use such vocabulary on my own.) He turned around just as I walked up to the crosswalk waiting for the walk light to turn on. Anne, he flushed even more when he saw me! When I crossed the street, too, he came near and started to talk to me."

Anne couldn't help the amused smile that crept up onto her face. Diana was so funny when she was flustered and rambled.

It didn't happen often. Usually it was Anne who was rambling about some imagining she had done or a story upon which she had decided to elaborate and Diana was the one who was listening. Oh how the roles had switched! (Not that Anne minded; she was a good listener as well as a good talker.) Watching Diana ramble and talk about Fred made her forget about the certain someone for a while and think more about other people, not just her own little club of those who faced her wrath in one way or another.

"I don't know what to do, though, Anne!" Diana continued. "I don't know whether our relationship would ever be the same! You know how I feel about him, though, don't you? I told you that I was over him, and I thought so for sure. But now he's back and my heart's still longing for him." Diana paused to think for a moment. She shot up from her previous position of lying down on her back to sitting up and turned to face Anne. "I thought it was a measly school girl crush... I really did! Now that he's back, though, maybe what I did feel was something more. You know, I think I'm over thinking this. I think I need something else to do with my time besides think about these boys, Anne."

Not that Anne had a problem with the opposite gender, (no, she really didn't, though they were quite annoying and stupid from time to time), she had to agree that they were taking up a lot of their brain and conscious thoughts that could be used to better themselves as people and to the society.

"I think you need to take a breather, Diana," Anne advised. "Go on a walk or something. I heard there's nice trails here that provide great scope for the imagination. Or even read a book! That usually helps me take my mind off of things for a while. After that, just think about what you want. Plus, we have that club meeting on Tuesday that we can go to."

"That's true," Diana agreed. She reached over the laptop still in Anne's lap to engulf Anne in a hug. "Thanks, Anne. That was great for me to let out. I think I'll go on that walk now while it's still light out."

"Okay, Di," Anne said. "I'll see you in a bit?"

Diana nodded and left Anne's room. Smiling to herself, Anne put back her earbuds. Hopefully all this boy drama will end soon. She wouldn't want anything to interfere with her school work at this point, and plus, they're stupid and she just needs to get over that fact. Plus, who really needs a boyfriend anyways?

* * *

 **woop woop! another chapter done. also, whaaa no time skips? what's wrong with you, huh? eh, i didn't think it was that necessary this time (phew). also, i hope you guys don't mind that i introduced fred pretty early. my plans were originally for them to be introduced later on with anne and diana both surprised to see them in a secret thingie that i can't say yet because i'd probably put it in another chapter (whoops this is probably already going to be come a spoiler... hahahah rip)**

 **OH WHALE! i hope you liked the chapter and i'll see you all later baiii!**


	4. COVERED IN CRAZY

**"SO** WHAT did you think of the meeting?" Anne asked Diana as they walked out of the Montgomery Residence Hall for sophomores common room.

Both Anne and Diana enjoyed the "Modern Acts of Feminism" club meeting. It seemed like a tight knit group of girls (and some guys) who were all dedication to the movement. Not only that, but they were all extremely interested in finding ways to help the community in small ways.

Diana, being raised in the traditional household, was quite skeptical about the whole ideal but enjoyed it in the end. Being a woman of color and blossoming as a feminist, Diana was welcomed into the club with open arms. She listened carefully to their discussions and, when appropriate, she would chime in with her own experiences and thoughts.

The first part of the club consisted of presentations from those who had previously signed up and many of them talked about current politics happening in the area or ways to defend one's self from potential predators or males who thought they had the right over one's body just because they are a woman. Also, there were some talking about women in art and the work force. Nonetheless, all of the presentations were very interesting and Diana even snuck some pictures of the slideshow on her phone. Afterwards, there was an open discussion session on the current issues the members of the club have found in media or in real life.

Anne fit right in, talking about issues she'd always talked about to Diana in high school, though Diana really never understood it at the time. As she listened to Anne speak with the other members of the club, Diana realized how big of a deal everything was.

Diana always took for granted living in a small town where everyone knew each other and their problems. While there are always disadvantages, one thing that never bothered her was how everyone knew how to treat each other and not create too much drama. The only time drama really stirred across the town were rumors usually started by the Pyes. Still, everyone in the high school usually feared for their sanity if they did something out of line for their parents would hear about what they did in the small-town-grapevine and would never hear the end of it. Thus, the boys never really acted out. Yes, they were far from being a gentleman, but they never really did anything extremely outrageous in fear that it might cause a feud between families and tension between the whole town. Plus, they wouldn't want Mrs. Rachel Lynde to overhear in fear that they'd never hear the end of it.

Still, Diana extremely appreciated the new outlook on society and what other people had to go through instead of being so sheltered all the time. She was extremely glad that Anne decided to drag her to this club and she knew that she would definitely be joining Anne again.

"I really enjoyed it," Diana said in response to Anne's question. "There's something extremely interesting to see how people are so different depending on what city they grew up in."

"That's quite true," Anne said, thinking about her own experiences. "Just living in Avonlea for that short amount of time in comparison to you, I can completely tell the difference of what it was like living in the small town where everyone knew each other versus big huge cities where everyone really minded their own business. Working for the Hammonds in a populous suburban city, it was a complete change when I moved into Avonlea. It was refreshing, in a way, not always having to watch who's around me as much, scared that I may be taken away or kidnapped in some shape or form. You're lucky that you never had to grow up with that fear. But still, I suppose, it shaped me to become who I am."

"You wouldn't be the Anne I know today," Diana agreed. "Plus, how else would you have been able to think of making a neighborhood watch that allowed the Gillis, Pye, and Mrs. Lynde's quick, gossipy, grapevine to be used for good?"

"We definitely did save a lot of people's houses from possibly being robbed," Anne remembered.

Previously, no one in Avonlea had worries about possible break-ins to their houses, considering they were pretty much in the middle of nowhere on Prince Edward Island. Plus, they Pyes were too proud of their home to ever think about someone trying to rob it. Still, as a part of creating the Avonlea Village Improvement Society, Anne decided that it would be beneficial to have a neighborhood watch. Mrs. Lynde agreed on this instantaneously since she was getting quite bored in the the Cuthbert home where she had taken residence after her late husband's death, since the only thing she was able to do was cook, do housework, and stalk people on Facebook.

Thus, that summer, Mrs. Lynde was able to spot mysterious figures near the Pye house on her usual morning walk and immediately tweeted about it, alerting the Pyes who were disbelieving at the time. They were able to catch the robbers, though, and the police were notified right away.

Though the Pyes were still skeptical about the whole thing and believed it was just coincidence, the rest of the neighborhood kept the watch. Also, the AVIS is still running strong, though Anne is away at college.

"Anyway, that idea was brilliant," Diana said. "So what did _you_ think about the club?"

"I thought the whole concept of the club was a great one. I wish we had one of these in our high school! It definitely would've opened up everyone's minds instead of always living under a rock. Plus, it would've at least helped the more elderly in our neighborhood to understand what the younger people are up to these days."

The two girls discussed the club a little more as they walked back to their dorm. Diana had to get ready since she was meeting some of the people in her psych study group at the library. Anne had plans to write some more and talk to Marilla over Skype.

Anne made a beeline to her desk right when they entered the dorm, taking out her textbooks for her Society and Environment class and opening up her laptop. After logging in, she turned on the faerie lights, giving some light into the dark room and adding onto the aesthetic. She turned on soft music in the background to help her concentrate a little bit better while she was waiting for the time Marilla said she could call.

She opened her book and read in relative silence, annotating and taking notes when she deemed necessary when Diana burst into the room.

"Do I look okay?" Diana asked, twirling.

She wore a long pleated skirt that came down to her ankles along with a loose white blouse. Her hair was in a bow that she liked to whip out every once and a while and she wore a pair of black converse. She didn't wear much makeup besides a little bit of mascara, blush, lipstick, and she did her eyebrows.

"I think you look fine," Anne said earnestly. "Isn't this just a study group? I doubt you really need to be looking your best since you are, you know, _studying_."

"Why wouldn't I want to look my best?" Diana replied innocently.

Anne knew the actual answer to the question but she decided to ask anyways. Fred had also signed up for the study group (whether he did it just because Diana had also signed up is unknown) and knowing Diana, her feelings towards Fred had already rekindled. There was really only one person who had Diana extremely smitten and that one person was the one and only Fred Wright.

He had always been the exact opposite of Diana's childhood ideals, but it didn't stop Diana from falling and falling deep. He had always been the person about whom Diana talked to Anne. Not that Anne minded, but she thought it was quite weird since Anne herself still has her ideals of a dark, mysterious man in her own mind. Once Fred had moved Anne believed Diana's crush had gone away, only for it to come back strong.

Anne gave Diana a disbelieving look but dropped the subject. Diana checked the time on her phone and realized the time. If she didn't leave now she would be late. Bidding Anne goodbye, Diana fled their humble abode to go to the library.

Anne leaned back in her chair wondering if she'd ever be weird like that when she actually found someone worthy enough to date.

Ever since she was a child she had always dreamt up romantic stories about some person who would come in and sweep her off her feet and she'd fall instantly in love. Those were the kinds of stories she'd read and her mind would conjure up ideals. Even though they're not the most realistic, she's still waiting for it to happen.

After reading some more of her textbook the time came when she had to call Marilla.

Anne had always thought of the talks she had with Marilla quite refreshing. It was nice to have someone with whom she could confide in a way that was more intimate than with a friend. Though Marilla hadn't been the automatic kindred spirit like Matthew had once been, it was still nice having someone who knew her on a deeper level. Plus, having a motherly perspective was always nice to have.

Anne opened up the video calling app on her laptop and logged in. After adjusting her laptop screen for the webcam to focus on her, she also prepared the background of her room to not look too messy in case Marilla complained about the upkeep of her dorm, or if Mrs. Lynde decided to pop up and found something she thought would be despicable (not that Anne had any of the sort, but one can never be too cautious when Mrs. Lynde is involved).

She grew a little impatient as she heard the ringing of the video call trying to connect to Marilla, but soon the ringing stopped as Marilla's forehead came into view.

"Hi Marilla!" Anne called with a smile.

"Oh hello there, Anne," Marilla replied, her brows furrowing as Anne knew Marilla was trying to figure out how to use the technology of her tablet Anne had gotten her before she left for Kingsport.

Anne laughed. "I can't really see you. Can you adjust your phone so I can see you? I can only see your forehead."

Marilla grumbled. "All this unnecessary technology. It's all so hard to use."

"Perhaps you should ask Davy or Dora to help you... or Mrs. Lynde, on second thought. She's quite tech savvy."

"That's true," Marilla agreed, adjusting the grip of the tablet. "So tell me Anne, how has Redmond been to you?"

"Oh Marilla, it's absolutely magical! It's not the same kind of magnificent splendor that Green Gables possesses, but it's so beautiful you _must_ come and visit me soon. Class hasn't been to hard, either. I quite enjoy the challenge it has been providing me. The only thing is making sure to have enough time to study and be prepared for the next lecture. Otherwise, Redmond has been very good to me."

"Although I wouldn't care much about this, but I do hope the people you have been associating with aren't too bad. The women in the Ladies Aid Society here are giving quite a fuss about you possibly changing too much."

"I doubt that would be a problem. I don't think there's many people who would _actually_ cause such a fuss to make me change, too much," Anne paused, thinking about what to mention next. Her eyes widened as she remembered something. "Oh I forgot to mention, Fred Wright is here! Diana was complaining a little about it actually," Anne mused, her eyes twinkling. "I can't believe I didn't realize Charlie Sloane was going to Redmond, too! I simply cannot believe I didn't hear anything from Mrs. Lynde about it. You and I know she would've said something about under what circumstance he would have gone to college, or how he had been accepted anyways." Anne paused, remembering the one person she absolutely despised, yet was extremely intrigued.

"There's something on your mind," Marilla read by the faltering of Anne's voice in the end.

"Do you by any chance know anything about Gilbert Blythe?" Anne asked, although saying the name pained her a little bit.

Marilla paused then. A look of recollection and grief flashed across her face. "I know a little, but why do you ask?"

"Oh!" Anne exclaimed, memories of previous day flooding back to her. "He's just the most _infuriating_ boy that had ever walked this earth!" Marilla gave a small chuckle at this, where Anne had thrown her a glare. "He had called me carrots, Marilla. _Carrots_. That's ten times as worse as the insults Josie Pye had gave me."

Marilla completely understood Anne. She did have some sort of history with another boy around that age. Hopefully, though, Anne is smart enough to be forgiving. Being Marilla, quite stubborn and hardheaded, she hadn't forgiven that one boy and she still deeply regrets it.

"He was a nice boy as a kid," Marilla said, much to Anne's dismay. "He did love to tease the girls, though. Overall, a gentleman, but definitely loved to poke fun. I've heard that he had changed since having a great teacher back in grade 5 before you had came to Avonlea, but since then, I don't know. I suppose he hadn't changed much, considering your story."

Anne rolled her eyes. There had to be a much more gruesome story behind him than just that. She hoped there was some different tragic backstory or at least one more intriguing than the small spinets Marilla had given her. Although, for asking Marilla for some information, what she had gotten wasn't that bad. She still wondered more about Gilbert's story besides being one who would like to annoy girls. She made a mental note to ask Diana more about it later.

She sighed. "So how is it over at Avonlea? How's Davy, Dora, and Mrs. Lynde?" Anne asked, changing the subject

"Oh, they're doing just fine. Davy still has been getting into as much mischief as usual, and Dora has been just as helpful. Mrs. Lynde has been talking up quite a storm here, but at least it has been giving me something to focus on while you've been gone."

After a brief pressing on how the town has been putting up with the majority of the young ones moving away for college, Anne had to say goodbye and study.

Overall, the conversation was quite refreshing. It was nice having a way to easily be able to catch up on news in Avonlea besides Mrs. Lynde's Twitter updates and Davy's complaints over text about his latest escapades in the middle school. Still, talking to Marilla was nice.

Even though the small rant she had about the certain someone was quite brief, she would most likely recount it in an email to be sent to Marilla. (Marilla enjoyed emailing a lot more than texting or video call. Perhaps it was because it was more similar to the old fashion snail mail but definitely a lot quicker... the only thing was if she was able to have less spelling errors when she sends a reply back!) At least Anne knew a little more information about Gilbert before she read him a little more. Plus, she needed to talk to Diana and see her opinion on the boy.

Either way, the back story of the boy she hated would definitely be interesting than just "the boy who liked to tease." It was like knowing why the evil villain in one's favorite story became who they were and why they did what they did. It intrigued Anne, though she knew much would be needed to convince Anne to change her opinion about the one who was deemed Voldemort by her and Diana. After all, first impressions are almost everything, and her first impression of him wasn't a good one. Of course, they could change, but so far they weren't budging.

Anne, especially as a redhead (though one's personality doesn't have anything to do with their looks), can definitely hold a grudge. Once, when she first met Mrs. Lynde, she actively avoided her and wouldn't apologize for a week once Mrs. Lynde had called Anne unattractive (which at the time greatly offended Anne). Even though Marilla had condemned Anne from leaving her room until she apologized, Anne didn't waver. Eventually Anne had gotten around to apologizing, but nonetheless, it goes to show how stubborn Anne could be.

She wondered, though, if anything would ever change her perspective of He Who Shall Not Be Named.

* * *

Diana had come back to the dorm, happy, but quite flushed. Anne was busy typing away on her computer to notice this right when she walked in, but as Diana floated past Anne's door and into her room, Anne questioned what _actually_ happened during that study group. Plus, it was nearing 10 PM and Diana said she would be back by 8.

Of course, the lovestruck look written across Diana's face Anne saw as she entered the room across from her's and sat on her best friend's bed answered so many questions as to the reason behind Diana's dreamy state.

"So I take it the study group went really well?" Anne questioned as she faced her friend.

"Oh yes, very well. We were able to get a lot of work done. I think I'm definitely ready for the exam on Friday," Diana replied, her eyes not really focused.

Anne frowned. She expected Diana to be ecstatic to tell her what happened during the study group, but she supposed Diana needed a little more pushing to ease her out of her reverie.

"So what happened? I thought it ended at 8," Anne said.

"Oh nothing really. We just went on a walk afterwards and talked a little," Diana replied, playing coy.

It was kind of getting on Anne's nerves the fact that Diana wasn't being completely open as to happened between her and Fred, but she didn't want to push it. She knows that Diana would tell her eventually, but she's dying to know about the unresolved tension they have between them. It was quite petty, but she really wanted to know what was going on in her friend's love life. Perhaps she really was spending too much time with Phil to actually care about that stuff.

"Diana," Anne pouted. "Who'd you go with?"

"Oh, just Fred," Diana answered, studying her chipped nail polish. "So how was the conversation with Marilla?"

"It was great, but what _I_ want to know is how was the conversation with 'Just Fred.'" Anne moved closer to Diana to hopefully get Diana to talk a little more, and even nudging Diana with her shoulder.

Diana produced a little smile at this, though it was a tired and lazy one. "Can't we talk about this tomorrow? I'm exhausted."

"That's cause you were hanging out with _Fred_ ," Anne teased in a sing-song voice. "Pl _ease_? I want to hear what happened."

"Oh alright," Diana said, complying. The teasing was getting to her, although she was quite enjoying it. "We might have talked a little more, and he might have said he still loved me."

"Diana Barry!" Anne exclaimed, bouncing up and down on the mattress. "He didn't!"

Diana's small smile widened and she nodded as she grabbed a pillow from her bed and hugged it to her chest.

"What did you say after that?" Anne asked, her genuine interest piquing.

"I didn't exactly _say_ anything, but we were in Patty's Place - you know, the cafe we were at the first day we came here - and I just blushed and drank some more hot cocoa."

"But Diana!" Anne interjected. "He's probably mortified and he thinks you don't love him anymore."

"I didn't finish yet Anne! Anyways," Diana continued, "I _might_ have kissed him before going into the room."

"Diana Barry, you sly rascal!" Anne exclaimed. Well that explained the dazed look and the unfocused eyes.

Anne and Diana fangirled a little more about the night Diana had with Fred and Anne's general curiosity about Gilbert fading. Of course, that was until Diana had brought him up.

"You know, Fred was talking about Gilbert. He and Gil are roommates along with Moody and Charlie, but they actually met up back in Charlottetown," Diana said even though she knew her friend's opinion on the boy. (The main reason why she even mentioned Gilbert is to see how Anne would react as it did give her pure joy to see her writhe.)

Anne rolled her eyes. Of course Diana had to mention _something_ about Gilbert. As if he hadn't invaded her thoughts already! But something clicked. She was curious as to how Gilbert came to be who he was, but she didn't exactly know how to formulate the question to not sound so suspicious. "Really Diana? You had to mention that... stupid flirt?" Anne spat instead.

"I don't think he's _that_ bad," Diana insisted. "Yeah, he does tease people a lot, but I don't think he meant it, Anne. You know, he called me 'Crow Head' in elementary school. It annoyed me tremendously but I did learn to ignore it. But then, that was elementary school. He probably changed since then."

"Then how do you explain the 'Carrots' incident?" Anne said, giving Diana a pointed look.

"Fred has been saying that's he's tremendously sorry about it," Diana replied. "He's apparently been moping around in his room trying to figure out ways for you to forgive him."

Anne scoffed. "He'd better keep thinking because it will be a _while_ until I will be able to."

"He was in the same position as you, you know," Diana said.

"What do you mean?"

"He's been an orphan since he was 13. His father died of cancer, but he missed a lot of school leading up to that," Diana informed Anne. "He was extremely close to his dad after his mother died, and he was alone after that."

Anne's face softened from the stubborn, pointed look that had rested there since the talk of Gilbert began.

She completely understood what it felt like to be alone in the world, but it still wasn't exactly the same. Anne had no recollection of her parents whatsoever, only the outlines of stories from acquaintances who had known Berta and Walter, only for them to be filled in with imagination. Plus, Anne had gone through most of her childhood without any friends, and the only time she had been close to getting one, they'd stabbed her in the back. The memory of the dead rat being swept across her face while she was stuck underneath the staircase of the group home still haunts her today. Not only does that memory haunt her, but the way she was first treated in Avonlea when she first arrived.

Overall, Avonlea was a great place to have her first home, but as it was already a small town where everyone knew each other and the happenings of each family, it was no surprise that an outsider wouldn't exactly be treated with open arms. Billy Andrews had definitely been a perpetrator of her first few anxiety attacks brought to her by the memory her rough experiences as a foster child, but Diana being there to help her definitely lessened the blow.

As much as Anne had pity for Gilbert Blythe, it still wasn't enough for her to jump into his arms and beg for his forgiveness for not taking him up on the opportunity of friendship sooner. It took a lot more warming up to do than that.

Anne nodded at Diana whom had resumed talking about Fred, but both girls soon been caught by a wave of drowsiness and Anne left the room to get ready for bed.

Anne grabbed her sleeping clothes and went into the bathroom to take a shower (she had always been one who would rather shower at night versus in the morning, after all, who would willingly get up earlier just to take a shower?) and think.

Was she being irrational? He did try to be nice to her, and her behavior was quite childish, to be honest. Still, it was kind of fun watching him wait it out to see if she'd actually be willing to take on friendship. Plus, he was being an obnoxious scoundrel when it came to getting her attention. Why pull on a girl's braid when she clearly wasn't paying attention? Isn't that something 5 year olds would do?

As she dried herself, put on her clothes, and started to brush through her auburn locks, she thought perhaps she should wait it out a bit longer. The feeling of automatic resentment towards him still lingered, although the tough wall barricading her from obtaining an actual friendship or at the very least acquaintanceship with him was slowly starting to deteriorate.

He might not be as bad as she once thought, but she wasn't about to jump the gun and be friends right away. She thinks that in this case, she's willing to make him sweat it out a little bit longer.

As she braided her hair, she peered at herself through the mirror and shook her head. She _really_ needed to think about something else.

* * *

 **i'm oh so dreadfully sorry that it took so long for me to update! i never really had the overwhelming feeling to write recently and it's coming back, finally. also, i'm sorry for the horrible update after being gone for so long! nonetheless, it doesn't exactly excuse me from not writing much, but i assure you the next few chapters are going to be a lot better.**

 **a few things i have to say. one, as much as the book _is_ about anne and gilbert, i hope that it doesn't exactly take over as i do want to talk about how anne has been doing throughout the college course and not just about her drama mooning over gilbert and gilbert pining after her.**

 **two, i just watched the aogg movie/tv series with megan follows as anne today! it was _amazing_ and the first anne of green gables movie was so extremely accurate i could die peacefully. megan follows is definitely the perfect anne! although, i have to say anne of green gables: the sequel was great, but it was so different than the books. i still loved it though!**

 **okay, enough with the extremely long authors note. i hope you liked the chapter and i'll see you next week (hopefully)!**


	5. STRANGE TO START

A FEW MONTHS PASSED since Diana's fateful meeting with Fred and their relationship blossomed ever since they reunited. Even though everyone was quite busy dealing with not only exam stress but also their own social lives, Diana was often found out of the dorm and usually hanging out with members of the study group, the "Young Musicians" club, or Fred himself. It wasn't like Anne was disappointed by this or saddened by it at all. In fact, she was glad Diana had widened her social groups. Plus, Anne was busy from studying for tests, doing extra homework to make sure she completely understood the materials the professors provided, and hanging out with Stella, Priscilla, and Phil.

In fact, the end of the winter semester was nearing before she and Diana would go back and visit Avonlea and Anne was completely unprepared for the final assignments and the final exams before winter break. More and more often she was found cooped up in her room, in a quiet room at the local library, or with her earbuds in her ears while she's working at Patty's Place.

Nonetheless, the big project for Classic Literature was approaching and she heard many rumors about it. Some of them were that it was going to be an easy essay, or it was going to be a huge group project. It didn't help that the projects from previous years had no correlation with each other so it was no help knowing what the past assignments were. Overall, if Anne was hoping for anything that the project would be, it was that it wasn't the group project.

As the time came for the final project to be unveiled, Anne's hopes weren't fulfilled. It was worse.

She at least _hoped_ she and the professors had put the partner projects away when she entered university, but of course she as wrong!

Classic Lit was by far her favorite class next to Creative Writing, especially since it was delving into the deep depths of how people had changed over the years, not only as a society, but also their views on different topics as they read different novels. Of course, there was another course talking about the subject more in depth of how society and humanity changed, but there's something quite amazing hearing about it through some form of characters and how their story develops as the work of fiction progresses and not just through facts and case studies. It's mesmerizing and captivating reading words on a page that could paint a whole picture, and she's so extremely grateful to be able to study it.

Although, there's just a _certain someone_ who just had to lessen her euphoric feeling just a little bit.

The literature lecture had started out like normal, Anne talking to Ruby and the certain someone acting like a barbarian with some members of the hockey team and of the Lamba Theta (the fraternity in which he's involved) in the row perpendicular to her's. As much as she would like - no _love -_ to not pay attention to any of his actions, but there's something that draws her to watch and shake her head in disgust towards their annoying banter.

The lecture started as soon as the professor talked about their previous essays about their opinions on whether idealism or realism is more important in fiction. She was quite impressed by the way the students picked their different sides and the variety of literary pieces they used to prove their points. Nonetheless, she was happy overall on the class's work and used it as a segue to introduce their newest assignment; a partner project discussing one piece of classic literature (obviously) that was assigned to them. The catch was, their partners were chosen depending on which side they chose for the essay. For instance, if one partner had chosen idealism and provided evidence from classic novels with the underlying theme of romantic notions, hypothetically the other partner would have written about realism in different kinds of tragedies in more action based novels. To everyone who had heard this assignment, it didn't sound so bad, not until Anne had seen with whom she had been partnered up on the classroom website they used to turn in assignments and find reminders given by the professor.

Of course she had to be partnered up with the one person she hated more than those who don't know the difference between 'you're' and 'your'! It made sense once she thought about it, though. They had to be enemies for a reason.

The moment she read the first letter of his name on the list her professor posted on their website when the end of class was nearing Anne internally groaned and fell face first right into her laptop keyboard. It was kind of painful as her forehead connected with the keys, but her awaiting psychological torment would be much worse.

Ruby had noticed this reaction as they sat next to each other in class and laughed. Anne was being melodramatic once again, but as she peered over to see the laptop screen that Anne had peered at right before passing out from the pseudo-pain, she understood why Anne had been so distraught.

It wasn't like Ruby had a problem with Gilbert, actually they were quite honestly great friends. The thing was, she did pity Anne a little bit considering Gilbert had treated her like they were 7 year-olds in the playground finding out cooties weren't actually a real thing. Nonetheless, she did think Anne's reaction was a bit much, but the drama was too good to pass up.

So, Ruby stroked Anne's back as Anne sobbed loudly. "There, there," Ruby cooed. "You'll be fine. It'll be over in a month. It'll be done before you know it."

"But Ruby, it's _one whole month_! You said it yourself. Four weeks. _Four_! The pain is just too much for me!" Anne sighed into her laptop.

Ruby smiled, but continued to pat Anne on the back.

She noticed Gilbert Blythe approach them, of course, but she wasn't about to tell Anne that. Ruby gave one fleeting glance in Gilbert's direction, a look of pity etched across her face, but returned her attention to her friend that was currently in the "Depths of Despair."

Gilbert cleared his throat, nonetheless, trying to obtain Anne's attention.

"Shirley," he called out once Anne lifted her head. He was greeted by a scowl and a glare that would've definitely put him six feet under if looks could kill. "I was wondering if and when you'd care to meet so we can work on the project?"

"I am free at 5 if you would like to meet at the library," Anne said monotonously, barely even looking in Gilbert's direction after the immediate look of distaste when he first arrived.

"Sure thing, Shirley. See you then," Gilbert replied, tipping an imaginary hat over in Anne's direction and stalking off to leave.

Once he left, Anne groaned as she returned her head onto the desk. She tried to be more comfortable, though, by laying her head on the folded arms in front of her.

Ruby laughed at her friends dramatics, though. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"It was the worst!" Anne exclaimed, though kind of muffled. "You saw it right in front of your eyes."

"Well, it didn't seem so bad to me, although a little bit awkward. Oh and you'd better get up. Everyone's leaving and I think you need to get into your next class soon."

"Eulgh!"

* * *

Anne barely made it to her next class with a few minutes left to spare, but on her mind was the meeting she would soon have with the certain someone. It wasn't like she hadn't tried to push the thought into the back of her head, but somehow it wouldn't stay. Instead, it was popping in and out of her conscious and it wasn't fun. How can one be able to carry on with their day without having thoughts about their upcoming meeting with the bane of their existence?

It was bound to happen eventually of course. The thing was, Anne was trying her hardest to procrastinate the meeting itself. It was delaying the inevitable, obviously.

She didn't want to seem rude, though. Even though she didn't exactly _want_ to show up, she still somewhat made a commitment and she needed to stick with it.

Once her last class of the day ended, she headed back into her dorm and flopped onto the bed, sulking in the inevitable. She didn't want to get up and get ready at all. She didn't want to have to interact with her sworn enemy just yet.

"So what's got you in the slumps?" Diana asked, poking her head into Anne's room.

"Diana!" Anne exclaimed, shooting up from her previous position scrawled all over the bed. "When'd you get back?"

"Just a few minutes ago," Diana replied. "I thought you would've noticed the racket if you weren't so deep in the 'Depths of Despair.'"

"Ugh!" Anne groaned. "I have a meeting with Voldemort today and I really don't want to go."

"Really?" Diana asked, surprised. "What for?"

"There's a stupid Classic Lit project we have to do," Anne complained. "You know, the partners were picked based off of our opinions from our Idealism vs Realism essay. It's no surprise that He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named and I had opposite ideas, thus we got picked."She sighed. "It's frustrating to say the least, though."

"It was inescapable, Anne," Diana said. "You guys were bound to meet, willingly or unwillingly, or work together over some sort of project eventually."

"For your information we had somewhat talked! He did try to apologize."

"Then what's the big deal about this one? At least you have an excuse to talk about something else, since it is an educational project anyways."

Anne sighed. It was no use making anymore excuses. "You're right. At least there _is_ an escape route. Oh Diana, how did I deserve such a levelheaded best friend as you?"

"I don't know and I ask the same to myself all the time," Diana deadpanned.

Anne gave Diana a look that was more sarcastic, but still affectionate. Her eyes flickered to her alarm clock next to the bed. "I'd better get ready. We're supposed to meet in like 30 minutes."

Diana nodded and left to go to her room which left Anne to get her bag prepared with the things she needed for the project. Anne emptied her school bag that was usually filled with the folders and notebooks needed for all the classes she needed to attend for the day in favor of just bringing the folder and notebook she needed for the assignment. She put her laptop and pen case back into the bag as well.

As soon as she figured out the rest of her needs for the project, Anne made sure to look at herself in the mirror to make sure she at least looked more presentable. Anne fidgeted with her braids making sure they were straighter and adjusted the elastic so that it wouldn't fall off to easily. Upon further inspection of her makeup, Anne wiped underneath her lower lash line to wipe off the mascara that was starting to clump. Once she felt she was ready, Anne checked her phone to make sure she wasn't running out of time.

After bidding goodbye to Diana, she left the dorm and took off. Her feet moved at a moderate pace as her brain shot questions rapidly. How bad would this meeting be? It's just for a project, after all, so _in theory_ it shouldn't be _that_ bad. Group projects are _supposed_ to be torture. She's dealt with Josie Pye in a few projects before, so Gilbert Blythe shouldn't be the most terrible thing. But it's _Gilbert Blythe_!

The thing is, is she overreacting about all this? Will this meeting be the worst night of her young life? Or will it be okay? Decent, even? Maybe she is overreacting. It's most likely possible since her imagination often takes her into places that are completely and totally irrelevant to the task at hand. The best thing she could do is just wait for the event to happen and not think about it until then.

It was easier said than done, honestly. By the time Anne arrived at the library, even she was around 10 minutes late, but there was no Gilbert to be found. She had wandered around just a little bit to see if he was hiding in a corner of the library, working quietly, but she didn't see him anywhere. She looked between shelves and in quiet rooms but he wasn't anywhere. In hindsight, it probably would've been smarter for them to exchange numbers so they'd be able to find each other more easily, but she'd been too distraught after finding out Gilbert was her partner to actually think straight.

She sighed and sat herself at a table closer to the entrance so that she'd be able to see him or he'd be able to see her more easily if he did come out later. She didn't want to waste too much of her own time while waiting for Gilbert to show up, so Anne opened up her laptop and opened up a new document for her Creative Writing final assignment which was to write a 15,000 word short story.

The thing is about Anne is that she has so many words to describe mundane tasks that even 15,000 words isn't enough for her to completely write all her thoughts to make it a full story. Not only that, but a constant struggle she has for her Creative Writing class is that she has too many ideas to pick just one. Many times she has an idea that caught her attention in the most random times of day where she writes in a small section she has in her notes on her phone. Anne often refers to the list whenever she feels a lack of inspiration, yet she believes that this assignment is worth much more than the silly story ideas she conjures up when she is bored. This one requires a lot more thought needed for a good idea that isn't too cliche yet has a good message.

So, Anne thinks, putting on her writing playlist on her phone and types out random mind maps that hopefully will eventually lead to a brilliant work of fiction.

As she tried to think, she never realized the time and how long she's spent waiting until she felt her phone buzz. Anne looked surprised as she looked at a notification from her Instagram saying someone had tried to direct message her.

thegilblythe  
hey. uh sorry i didn't ask for your number before so we can figure out where exactly to meet at the library so i did some stalking of ruby's following so i found your account?

oh shit that sounded creepy

oh well that already sent

anyways, where are you? i've been here for almost an hour

btw i'm by the nonfiction books on the second story

annewithane  
Really? I didn't see you there when I was up there. I'll go right now though.

I was waiting for you by the front.

Anne, kind of confused and flustered that he had found her Instagram account, scrambled to scoop all of her stuff into her arms as she left the table at which she was previously sitting to find Gilbert upstairs.

Her impending fate had yet to be discovered until she figured out where by the nonfiction books Gilbert was located. Of course the library just had to be so big that it was almost impossible for her to find him.

The nonfiction section was on the other side of the building from where the staircase was located. It also took up a big section of the library itself, as there were at least twenty shelves full of books ranging from advice manuals, research material for papers, and personal essay books. It didn't help that that wing was quite dark as there weren't many windows in that area. Also, it no one really went there enough for the lights to be extremely bright like the common areas where most students liked to sit.

It was unfortunate for Anne, really, having to spend so much time with a myriad of books in her hand lugging through what seems like miles and miles of shelves just to find the table at which Gilbert sat.

Eventually, though, Anne was able to find the darkhaired boy who had his nose stuck in a book, earbuds plugged in, phone nearby. Periodically he checked the phone seemingly for notifications. Perhaps he was waiting for some sort of reply, Anne thought. He didn't notice as she walked up to the table having been so absorbed in the book he was reading and pushing up the glasses he wore up the bridge of his nose. It was only until she slammed her books on the table quite dramatically and swung her book bag to the ground did he look up from the book and removed his earbuds.

"Jesus, Anne, to think your laptop's in that stack of books you'd be more careful," Gilbert said. "But then again, this is the girl who slammed my $800 tablet on top of my head and I had to spend another $700 to get the screen replaced."

Anne winced. "I suppose that wouldn't have happened if you hadn't teased me about my hair," she retorted. "Plus, it would've been a lot more logical just to get a new tablet if it cost that much to fix the screen."

"Listen, Shirley. I've told you I'm sorry! I don't know what else I have to do," Gilbert sighed. "I have literally tried to make it up to you, and, don't get me wrong, I'm still trying, but at least give me an idea of what I have to do."

Anne shrugged. "Can we just work on our project now? That's what we're here for anyways."

Gilbert pushed his glasses up and rubbed his eyes. His shoulders sagged in defeat as he nodded. He took off his glasses and shook his head, running a hand through his curls making it a little more unruly.

Anne's brows furrowed as she watched him. She shook her head. _Stop staring!_ she thought. _You're being weird!_

Anne shuffled her notebook and folder so it was off her laptop and turned it on. She was busying her hands as she took her earbuds out of her phone and wrapped it up.

The fact was, it was getting quite awkward with them shuffling around their school supplies, not talking at all. To an outsider it just looked like people not knowing what do to around each other, possibly like one would do on a first date, but to Anne she was trying to calculate what Gilbert was going to do next to possibly make her night more of a living hell. Of course, she knew she was overreacting, but she couldn't help it! She had ingrained this image of Gilbert in her mind that it was weird having him here in front of her as they needed to get their project done.

"Okay, so..." Anne started as her laptop finally turned on. "We need to figure out which book we were assigned to. This one she emailed to us. Did you read the email?"

"Uh, I don't think so," Gilbert replied. "I get too swamped with emails that I don't check it often. I'll look right now if you want."

"That would certainly be helpful," Anne said, not bothering too look at Gilbert as he answered. She didn't need to get more distracted than she was already.

Anne pulled up the email herself, going past all the wordiness of the class announcement and onto the website at which the location of the assignment was found. As she clicked on the website she asked, "Since when did you wear glasses?"

"Why, I'm flattered Shirley, you actually pay attention to me!" GIlbert answered which was greeted by an eye roll. "In all seriousness, I've been wearing glasses since grade 8, but I wear contacts mostly."

"Ah, I see," Anne said, not really knowing what else to say and returning to the email.

(What? She was curious.)

"Ah ha!" Anne exclaimed, finally finding the assignment from among the other mumbo jumbo Professor Stacey had decided to add. "So we're required to read _Persuasion_ by Jane Austen. Huh, not too bad. I thought it was gonna be worse."

"What do you mean?" Gilbert asked.

"I don't know... probably some extremely long passage about some dude making some kind of misogynistic revelation that would be completely irrelevant in the next 100 years."

"Huh, I suppose so. Anyways, what else did the email say about the assignment?"

"We are to discuss the literary significance of the affects of one event in one's life changes their entire perspective. We're also to discuss how the narrative changes the voice of the novel and its characters. I don't think that's too hard, but we do have to get the book and read it. Are we going to read it at about the same pace?"

"I mean it would make sense. Should I get 2 copies of the books for us?" Gilbert suggested.

"Sure; knock yourself out," Anne replied. "I'll start the document."

Gilbert rose from his seat to go over to the fiction shelves on the other side of the building near the staircase. Anne watched him as he left, but as soon as he was out of her line of sight she immediately turned back to her laptop, telling her brain that she needs to get to work.

She was being weird. She had no need to even _think_ about Gilbert Blythe or if he wore glasses. All she needed to do was work on the project and hopefully survive it. She didn't need to spark some other type of conversation besides those about the book. They would survive without it, honestly. There is no need for him to be in her conscious right now. The only thing she needs to think about is how they are going to tackle this project.

Anne continued this inner monologue as she signed into her email and pulled up the Google Doc so that they could share it with one another. As she searched for his email through the automatic Redmond email database, Anne was quite intrigued by the choice of profile picture. It was one of beautiful scenery. It showed the beautiful spruce and pine trees lined up along the edge of the water of a lake and even mountains. The mountain tops were sprinkled by snow above its snowline, even though the time the picture was taken was probably around the fall.

Anne was momentarily stunned by the beauty that was captured in this small photograph that she barely noticed that Gilbert was back until he was leaning in close to her ear and murmured, "Are you done admiring my profile yet so we can get back to work?"

Anne, having a lack of orientation as soon as an unwanted voice filled her ears and warm breath fanned across her cheek, was unable to do anything but yelp. She quickly cupped her hands over her mouth after the high pitched noise left her mouth, both to muffle the voice and also as an innate reaction.

"Shirley, I thought you'd remember to keep your voice down. You're in the library after all," Gilbert teased.

After Anne's small scare, her heart rate had already risen and adrenaline coursed her veins. Soon, it had been accompanied by more energy as a spiteful feeling had erupted in her. Anne's eyes narrowed as her eyebrows moved closer, centimeter by centimeter, an angry scowl forming across her face. Gilbert had no time to prepare as her hand had removed itself from her face but instead recoiled and made contact with his upper arm. It made a deafening smack-noise as it struck that definitely would have sent ugly glares their way if there were more people in that area. Instead, they were quite secluded in the back corner of the library so no one was there to witness their banter.

At Anne's slap, Gilbert's mouth opened to let out a silent hiss as he mouthed "Ow."

Anne was not the least bit sorry, in fact, she was quite happy. Soon, the glower left her face and was instead replaced with a smug smirk as she eyed him and shrugged her shoulders innocently.

Gilbert's eyebrows furrowed in annoyance and hurt, though his eyes still had a teasing glint in them. As soon as Anne saw this look, her eyes rolled.

"Jeez, Anne, you sure know how to bruise a man's ego," Gilbert sighed, bringing his hands to cover his heart in mock hurt.

"Well, it did need a little deflating anyways," Anne replied, turning back to her computer. "I shared the document with you. It's blank currently so you'd probably need to add some things in there. First and foremost-"

"Your transitions are the absolute best, Shirley, honest. Who knew someone could always talk about school so easily?" Gilbert commented, crossing his toned arms behind his head.

"Well, duh, you're talking to her," Anne deadpanned. "We seriously need to get started on this project, though."

"Relax Anne, we have a month until it's due."

"That's four weeks we need to use to read the book, dissect it, write the essay, and revise it. It's not merely enough time if we want to get a good grade on it." Anne checked the time on her phone. "We already wasted 2 hours here and we hadn't gotten any work done!"

"Well we should start working, shouldn't we?"

Anne rolled her eyes. Gilbert might have the looks, but he sure was annoying.

* * *

 **i'm sad bc i didn't make it to the 5k words i was looking for but this is the longest chapter i've ever written. i'm actually quite proud of myself at the fact that i was able to publish this before monday was over so i count it as a win!**

 **oh and OH MY GOD AMYBETH MCNULTY LIKED MY TWEET TODAY AND IM NOT GETTING OVER THIS**

 **tbh it was like a rly simple tweet that i'm so effing surprised she even noticed that and im like ILYSM I CANT BELIEVE U NOTICED A PEASANT LIKE ME**

 **anyways, i think im gonna watch annE again after i finish s1 of gilmore girls + backstage**

 **ok i hope y'all have a good rest of ur week! baii!**


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